


If I Could, I'd Only Want To Make You Smile

by justyrae



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-13
Updated: 2014-01-13
Packaged: 2018-01-08 15:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1134240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justyrae/pseuds/justyrae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall owns a coffee shop and is totally smitten with Zayn, the unbelievably gorgeous businessman who comes in now and again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If I Could, I'd Only Want To Make You Smile

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by [this](http://wolflulu.tumblr.com/post/60953388999)
> 
> title from 'Make You Smile' by +44

Niall was quite proud of himself, all things considered. He'd never imagined that the small coffee shop that he and his sister, Allison, had started together would ever have done so well. He also hadn't expected that he'd love working every day of the week, but he found that when he actually took days off he spent them in the shop regardless.

He'd discovered his love for making people smile at a young age, and it carried over to his work. Niall made it his mission to ensure that everyone who entered the shop left with a smile, and he was very good at it.

Allison was the more sensible of the two for sure, but she always enjoyed a good laugh. She knew Niall was never going to be as serious about their business as she was, but deep down she knew in her heart that he cared about it just as much as she did.

The pair worked endless hours together, only having a handful of part-time employees to help share the burden. They bickered endlessly, having little time to themselves with both working and living together, though their arguments never seemed to be about anything in particular and never caused a rift in their relationship.

"Bloody hell, Niall-" Allison grumbled as she walked out of the back room carrying two large bags of coffee beans. "Do you ever properly stock anything?"

"Why would I when I've got you to do it?" he answered smugly from behind the cappuccino machine, earning a snicker from their employee behind the register.

"Keep it up and I'll walk out and leave you on your arse," Allison retorted and Niall smiled cheekily.

"You'd never." She sighed heavily as she put the bags down and leaned on his shoulder.

"No, but I like reminding you that I could." Niall chuckled, shaking his head as he called out an order, placing the cup on the counter.

A man, who couldn't have been much older than Niall, came up to claim it. Niall offered him a smile, and the man gave a small smile and a curt nod in return before he turned around and left the shop.

"Niall? Earth to Niall?" Allison chuckled as Niall turned to face her, his eyes suddenly glazed over.

"What?" he asked a minute later as he blinked, choosing to ignore the fact that his cheeks were turning red.

"Nutter," Allison mumbled as she shook her head, returning to the back room as Niall busied himself with the next order.

*

The next time Niall saw the mysterious young man was the week after, on a particularly slow day in the shop. Niall had let Faye, one of their employees who was pre-med and always stressed, go home to study and was left alone to run the shop by himself.

He didn't mind being alone in the shop, and he knew that if he called Allison she'd be down in a matter of minutes to help him out. Though seeing as how he'd only had four customers in the last hour, he figured he could catch up on the stock work he'd been putting off all week.

Niall set a small sign up on the counter that read _in the back, ring the bell!_ before he slipped out of sight. He snatched the clipboard from its place on the wall, glancing at it as he let out a sigh. This was his least favorite part of owning the shop, and he avoided the stock room as much as possible.

Luckily, after only two minutes, he heard the bell from the front of the shop and he quickly put the clipboard back before heading out.

Niall stopped short in his tracks as he saw who had rung the bell, and a smile quirked at his lips when the young man saw him as well. Remembering himself, Niall walked up to the register and greeted him.

"What can I get you?"

As he listened to the order, Niall's eyes wandered over the man before him. He was wearing a suit that was obviously tailored to fit his body, and Niall couldn't help but enjoy how it showed off his slender form.

His eyes snapped back to the face of the man, smiling cheekily as he totaled up the order. Unlike the first time they'd met, the man wasn't smiling. He looked quite tired, and rather desperate for caffeine.

"£4 even, and your name?"

"Zayn." Niall noted that even his voice sounded tired as he pushed a tenner across the counter. Niall gave him his change and said his drink would be up soon, turning his back on Zayn to start on it.

As he waited for the milk to steam, Niall snuck another glance at Zayn before looking down at the cup in his hands that he'd scribbled Zayn's name onto. He bit his lip and smiled as he scribbled a short note and set the cup down, going about to finish making the drink.

"Here you go," he said with another smile as he placed the cup on the counter towards Zayn. He took it with a slight nod of his head, not noticing the message until he was nearly at the door.

_Smile! :)_

Zayn turned back around, his eyes meeting Niall's as a small smile tugged at the corner of Zayn's mouth. Niall's smile widened warmly and he gave a small wave before Zayn pushed the door open and left the shop.

*

He returned a week later, and the shop was significantly busier that day, but Niall still noticed him the second he walked through the door. Zayn had a briefcase slung over his shoulder, and he was wearing a different suit though it was tailored the same as the other had been.

He had the same tired look on his face, and Niall already had a cup in his hand when he overheard his order. He scribbled another message on it before he made the drink, setting it on the counter so the message faced Zayn.

_Hope your day gets better :)_

Zayn looked at Niall and a genuine smile broke out across his face, and he slipped his change of £6 into the tip jar. Niall opened his mouth to protest, his hand already headed for the jar when Zayn caught his wrist.

"Keep it."

Niall found himself unable to answer, so he simply nodded as Zayn let go. Niall expected him to turn around and walk out, but instead he headed towards a table in the corner and settled down.

Zayn's eyes met his own again once he sat down, and Niall quickly looked away, slightly embarrassed that he'd been caught staring.

Allison popped up out of nowhere to distract him, scolding him again for neglecting his stocking duties.

"Honestly I don't know why I even rely on you for it anymore."

"Neither do I, dear sister." Niall chuckled. "You really should cut that out."

"What kind of sister would I be if I let you out of your responsibilities?" she asked, turning back to Niall and seeing he'd been distracted again. "Niall?"

"Yeah?" Niall snapped his head back around and smiled sheepishly at Allison.

"What has gotten you so distracted?" she asked as she stepped forward, intent on seeing what Niall had been staring at.

"No- don't!" Niall quickly grabbed her and shuffled the two of them into the back room, ignoring the odd looks they were getting from not only their employees but from the customers on the other side of the counter as well.

"Niall, unhand me!"

"Unhand me?" Niall snickered. "What are you on about, Al?"

"Shut up," she snapped. "What did you do that for, anyway?"

"You were going to embarrass me." Allison rolled her eyes.

"You embarrass yourself enough for the both of us, thank you very much." She narrowed her eyes before a grin crept across her face. "There's someone out there you don't want me to see."

"No, you're mad." Niall turned away and Allison grabbed his arm.

"Who is it?" She laughed. "Is it that fit bloke from the other day?"

"No!" Niall laughed, hoping she didn't notice the color rising in his cheeks.

"It is! It so is!" Allison laughed even louder and Niall quickly clapped his hand over her mouth.

"Shut it! Christ, you're embarrassing." Allison kept giggling behind Niall's hand and eventually he rolled his eyes and took his hand away from her mouth.

"My little brother, all choked up over some bloke he barely knows."

"Sod off, yeah?" Niall pushed Allison away but was smiling. "We're the same age, you twat."

"Oi, watch yourself. I'm older by 26 minutes and you know it."

"Yeah, yeah. Pushy right from the start."

*

The weeks passed by in a similar fashion, although after a while Zayn started to come into the coffee shop several times a week instead of just once. Niall was always there, even when Allison yelled at him to take a day off.

"I realize you're obsessed with him, but bloody hell would you get out of here?" Allison couldn't help smiling even when she was chastising Niall from across the counter.

"Absolutely not." Niall smirked. "What if he comes in and I'm not here?"

"He'll survive," Allison quipped. "You, however, may not if you don't get out of my face."

"I'm not in your face," Niall retorted, sticking his tongue out at Allison before he left the counter, letting the small line behind him actually start to order.

Niall dragged one of the stools from the front of the shop around to the back, setting it up in the doorway of the stock room before taking up residence on it. Allison sent him glares whenever she turned around, but they didn't last long against the cheeky smile that was permanently attached to Niall's face.

"If you're going to insist on hanging around here all day, make yourself useful, yeah?" Allison asked as she gestured to the room behind him. "Catch up on your month's worth of stocking."

"Ugh, you horrible wench of a taskmaster."

"Love you too, dear brother!" Allison called after him as Niall dragged himself into the back room, taking the stool with him and making sure to scrape it against the floor loudly.

He set to work, moaning and groaning loudly as he wandered around the stock room and checked things off on the clipboard. Half an hour went by before Faye popped her head in and said his name softly.

"Allison said to tell you your boytoy just walked in."

Niall felt the clipboard slide out of his grip, but couldn't recover fast enough to catch it before it clattered to the ground. Faye jumped at the sound, clutching her ears as Niall cursed loudly.

"Language, Niall!" Allison's voice carried from the front of the shop and Niall laughed.

"Be a dear and sort that out for me, yeah?" he asked Faye as he swept past her, joining Allison behind the counter. He snatched the cup for Zayn's drink out of her hands and turned his back to both of them, quickly scribbling a message before Allison could stop him.

Niall made sure to keep the message from Zayn's view as he prepared his drink, handing it to Allison after he finished. Niall finally looked at Zayn, having avoided his eyes until that moment, and smiled as a short laugh escaped his lips before he hurriedly disappeared into the back room again.

Allison laughed as she read the message, smiling widely as she passed the cup to Zayn. He took it from her, but didn't look at the message until he'd settled in his usual seat on the other side of the shop. Allison kept an eye on Zayn as she took the order from the next customer.

She looked at him just in time to see him mouth the words of Niall's message, _for the prettiest boy I'll see today_. Allison smiled widely as Zayn looked up, his eyes searching the shop for Niall. When he didn't find him, he looked at Allison, who winked in return and nodded her head to the back room.

Zayn fought a smile, failing miserably as he slunk down in his seat and cradled his cup close to his chest.

*

Zayn didn't come in the next day, or the day after that. On the third day of no Zayn, Niall starts to feel like maybe he'd done something wrong.

"You're an idiot," Allison teased gently.

"I'm serious," Niall whined. "What if I took it too far?"

"I'm telling you, you're an idiot." Allison rolled her eyes. She'd told Niall numerous times about the smile Zayn had on his face after he read the message, but Niall was still up in arms about it.

"Then why hasn't he come back?" Niall chewed his lip nervously and Allison smacked him upside the head.

"He's probably working, like you should be." She gestured to the stack of cups that he was currently neglecting, and Niall huffed.

"My own sister, rude and completely unhelpful in my hour of need."

"That's me," Allison answered with a cheeky smile.

The day passed without Niall bringing the subject up again, until right around closing time. Allison was sweeping up the front of the shop while Niall was fussing around with things behind the counter, sighing wistfully the whole time.

"Would you shut the hell up?" Allison snapped. "You're worse than a teenage girl."

"I am not," Niall huffed.

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too, Nialler. Now shut up." Niall collapsed onto the counter and Allison nudged his head with the broomstick. "And get your face off the counter, nasty."

"Fine," Niall said as he slumped down to the floor behind the counter, hiding from Allison. She leaned over the edge and laughed, rolling her eyes as the door to the shop opened. She half-expected it to be Zayn, but when Faye walked in, Allison pushed that idea out of her head.

"Left my Chem book," Faye explained quickly as she brushed past Allison. She laughed softly, rolling her eyes again as she followed Faye into the back. They reappeared a few minutes later, Faye with her book and Allison with her coat.

"Niall?" she called, pausing at the counter while Faye headed back out the door.

"Yeah?" he answered, still hiding behind the counter.

"I'm off, you all right to close up on your own?"

"I guess," he replied softly. Allison sighed and leaned over the counter, stretching her arm out to ruffle Niall's hair.

"You'll be fine, little brother. He'll come back." He batted her hand away but said a quiet thanks before she left the shop.

Niall remained on the floor for a few more minutes, until he let out a deep breath and stood up to check the time. He mumbled a curse under his breath, Allison had left him alone with still half an hour to go. He glanced around the shop, silently debating closing early since there was no one in there.

The only sound in the shop was the radio playing softly in the background, and Niall disappeared into the back room to switch to his iPod. 'I Know You Care' by Ellie Goulding was the first song to come up, and Niall rolled his eyes because he knew this meant that Allison had been using his iPod again despite having her own.

Niall headed back out to the front of the shop and froze when he saw that he wasn't alone. Zayn was standing at the counter, looking almost as surprised to see Niall as Niall was to see him.

"I- uh, I wasn't sure if anyone was still here," Zayn said softly, chewing on his bottom lip nervously as Niall came forward.

"No- I mean, yeah-" Niall chuckled, running his hand through his hair. "Just me. Wh- Can I get you anything?"

"Yeah," Zayn let out a laugh, pulling his wallet from his pocket. "The usual, I guess."

"Got it," Niall replied, snatching a cup from under the counter before he turned his back to Zayn. As he set the milk to steam, he snatched a marker from the counter and thought for a moment about what he was going to write.

A few minutes later he put the cup on the counter and looked at Zayn with a smile. "On the house."

"N-No, you don't-"

"I insist," Niall interrupted, pushing Zayn's drink towards him as he leaned on the counter. Zayn looked at the cup, his eyes focusing on the message.

_Smile, you never know who could be falling in love with it._

Zayn chuckled softly, letting his smile shine as he looked at Niall. He admired him for a moment, taking special notice of the slight blush that was rising in Niall's cheeks as he looked at him.

"Is that true?" he asked softly. Niall chuckled, dipping his head a bit as he shrugged his shoulders.

"S'what I've heard, yeah."

Zayn was still smiling as he stepped closer to the counter, leaning in to bring his lips to Niall's. They both kept smiling through the kiss, and Niall gently cupped the side of Zayn's face as he pulled away.

"Yeah, definitely true." Niall chuckled before pulling Zayn back in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://imlouisaf.tumblr.com)


End file.
